Kerr-Mcgee Corp. v. Ma-Ju Marine Services

830 F.2d 1332 (5th Cir. 1987)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

P employed P1 as a switcher. P hired boats to transport the switchers and other workers from well to well. P had time-chartered the C.C. RIDER, from Ma-Ju. The C.C. RIDER had only one crew member -- the captain -- and, as is customary in time-charter arrangements, he was a regular employee of the boat's owner, Ma-Ju (D). P1 was seriously injured in a fall from the C.C. RIDER's cabin deck to the main deck. As the boat drew near a well site, P1 proceeded to descend steps leading to the main deck, the boat lurched, and threw her on her back, causing significant injuries and severe pain. P1 began receiving LHWCA compensation payments from P. P sought reimbursement from D and its insurer for LHWCA compensation paid to P1. Sometime later, P1 filed suit directly against P, D, and D's insurers. P1 claimed that her injuries were caused by the negligence of D and P in failing to use nonskid paint on the C.C. RIDER's steps and in failing to provide adequate handrails. P1 sought recovery as a Jones Act seaman or, in the alternative, under section 5(b). P1 was not a seaman, and the court granted P's motion for a directed verdict on P1's Jones Act claim. Her section 5(b) claims were submitted on special interrogatories to the jury, which found that P 'exercised control' over the C.C. RIDER, that P was negligent, that D was not, and that P1 was fifty percent contributorily negligent and suffered $ 262,500 damages. P1 recovered $131,250 from P but took nothing from D. P appealed. P1 appealed complaining of the directed verdict against her on seaman status for Jones Act purposes